My Dead Ex
/ Bio

My Dead Ex was the recording project of Ryan Hess between 1995 and 1996 in Houston, TX. Originally intended to be used in the soundtrack to a short film Hess was producing for his BFA at Rice University, the recordings resulted in the six song self titled EP. Hess tracked acoustic drums, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitars and vocals in a makeshift studio at 1806 West Alabama, aka Alabama House, in a bedroom using a Tascam 8-track analog recorder. The project involved experimentation with a handful of guitar effects including sans amp and big muff pedals. Electric guitars were tracked with an American stratocaster with lace sensor pickups and a unique Japanese stratocaster with humbucker pickups. Songs were inspired by alternative British music popular at the time as well as the emerging low-fi movement in the US characterized by artists like Pavement and Liz Phair. The six songs were mixed by Hess at Alabama House and mastered by Hess and Redo Makeshift at Houston's Deep Dot studio.